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When you mention using a long lasting high value treat to throw in the opposite direction so we can get whatever it is she is chewing on, I am just concerned that we will be on this never ending train of trying to find something better than what she has. Is it okay to give her something that is still higher in value but is not as long lasting? Well, the purpose is to create a strong impression that we are the providers of great things, and that if we need to take away, we offer something that is far better. For sake of an example, back to eating out, imagine you are at a restaurant complaining about a steak not being as rare as you hoped for. The waiter apologizes, takes your steak away and returns with a much smaller steak albeit it's rare as you hoped. You may say nothing at first, but you may feel disappointed. If this happens often enough, a day may come when you may have had enough and get angry or stop dining there. I say this because after some time, if the trade isn't fair enough, the dog may come to learn that it's not worthy giving up the long-lasting chew and the dog at some point may instinctively move towards the treat and then make a sudden about face and decide to go back for the long-lasting chew with the risk of biting if you're right about to pick it up. So I call it the art of "fair trading". It may sound complicated but it really isn't. Like if your dog chews on something, you can have something higher in value that can last somewhat long versus gobbled up in a second always ready so that you can swap. If a dog is chewing a shoe that isn't edible by any way, you can even swap that for a dog treat that you can cut up in various pieces so that your dog has to go on a little treasure hunt which adds durability and gives you time to retrieve the swapped item. Of course, it also helps to keep things that a dog isn't supposed to chew out of the way, so that we don't have to swap too often 😉 Yup, until she is more trustworthy, keeping separated when your nephew is over is the best approach. We don't want any accidents to happen.

Hi Mona! At 2½ months old not pooping in the house is a big step! Peeing is tougher because their bladders are so very small. When mine were puppies I would give them all the water they wanted when I was home, but I would take it up 20 minutes before I left and then let them outside right before leaving. I would give them just enough to wet their tongues if I was going to be gone for a while. When I was staying home I would take them out every 20 minutes or so and I taught Gertrude to ring a bell to let me know when she needs to go out. Adhering to a schedule with feedings will make potty training much easier so good work on that! Taking up water an hour before bed won't cause him any distress and may help get rid of that 3 am potty break, especially if you take him out right before bed time. He's still pretty young, though, so it may take a bit of time before his bladder can hold the liquid for longer periods of time. Where does he sleep? Momo was crated throughout his puppy years and never peed in his crate. The fact that he's stopping when you yelp is encouraging. Restraining him passively, though, is actually rewarding him for the behavior. He's possibly putting bite + petting together so it's a good thing when he nips. The growling could be his way of telling you he's frustrated at being restrained. You'll see the methods here are "force free," meaning it's up to us to teach the pups to make the "right" decision (in our human opinion anyway). When you yelp do you also turn your back on him and / or move away so he understands you're disengaging? Since he's not continuing with the nipping after you yelp and he takes a second to think about what's happening it sounds like he'll get it eventually. Australian Shepherds are super smart. They're also super hyper and I don't know about prey driven so much as herding. He's going to need some games to challenge that clever brain of his. One of my favorites is the "find it" game where I put treats around the house for Gertie to sniff out. It started out Really easy. A treat in front of her followed by "find." Then a treat a little further away from her, again followed by "find." Each time we reset the game she had to sit and stay. Since River is good at 10 seconds you're already on your way to teaching him this game. :) Slowly we increase the difficulty and eventually you'll put the treat out of his line of vision so he has to work a little to find it. Over time you can make it harder. I have put treats on top of boxes, behind dresser legs, on window sills, under her blanket (that didn't work out well for the blanket, lol, and I haven't done that one again but our other dog, Abbi, is excellent at finding those without doing damage). Sometimes I make the game really easy and sometimes I make it pretty darn tough, which is a big part of what I like so much about that game. Anyway, I thought I'd throw my ideas out there since I'm awake and I know I appreciate quick answers so I gave it a try. And now I go get sleep myself!